News from the Wire

CashStar raises $5 million in funding

Wednesday, July 11, 2012 — 11:50:16 (EDT)

Portland, Me., July 11, 2012 -- CashStar today announced that it has raised $5 million in funding to help drive continued growth, mobile innovation and adoption in the digital gifting and incentives market. The round includes Intel Capital, along with existing investors Passport Ventures, FTV Capital and Steven Boal, Co-founder and Chairman of CashStar, and president and CEO of Coupons.com, Inc.

With the eGift Card market expected to breach $11 billion by 2014, more than 250 brands in the CashStar network already leverage eGifts via web, social media and mobile channels to increase sales and build loyalty with consumers. Mobile eGifting continues to experience rapid adoption with one major CashStar retailer alone experiencing a 240 percent increase this Father’s Day over last year.

“Gifting in the digital world offers new opportunities for businesses to take advantage of social and mobile platforms to reach and engage with consumers,” said Dave Flanagan, Managing Director of Intel Capital. “The momentum CashStar has achieved in the past year alone is indicative of the transformation in how both businesses and consumers are approaching the gifting experience. CashStar’s innovations have digitized the act of gifting online and now this trend is increasingly moving mobile, making it a more personal, engaging and rewarding experience.”

Powering the majority of retailer eGift programs in the U.S., CashStar’s digital gifting platform offers consumers an unmatched personalized digital gifting experience via email, mobile and social media channels. Retail brands currently leverage CashStar’s platform to easily and securely integrate digital gifting strategies to increase sales and customer loyalty, including Best Buy, Gap, Staples, Starbucks, The Home Depot and Williams-Sonoma.

“CashStar is unmatched in its mobile eGift offering and we are grateful to have retail partners like Starbucks who are leading the way in mobile purchasing. We know from recent research that consumers want eGifts to be easily available on their smartphones, personalized and instant,” said David Stone, co-founder and CEO of CashStar. “Top retailers have realized this trend and are now leveraging eGifts as digital currency to interact with their customers via their smartphones, on the web and social networks — even in the physical store.”

About CashStar, Inc.

CashStar is the preferred digital gifting and incentives partner for retailers nationwide. These retail brands leverage CashStar to easily and securely integrate digital gifting strategies to increase sales and customer loyalty. CashStar offers consumers an unmatched personalized eGift experience via email, mobile and social channels. It is the only company to successfully combine an on-demand B2C and B2B digital gifting and incentives platform with innovative multichannel marketing strategies. More than 250 brands are successfully partnering with CashStar to drive incremental sales, increase retention and boost profitability including Best Buy, Chili's Grill & Bar, CVS/pharmacy, Gap, Pottery Barn, QVC, Staples, Starbucks, T.G.I. Friday's, The Home Depot, and Williams-Sonoma. To learn more about how CashStar is constantly innovating the way businesses deliver personalized gifting experiences to consumers and partners in the digital world, please visit www.cashstar.com or e-mail sales@cashstar.com.

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Source: Company press release.